Impeachment lawyer urges patience for those annoyed by Merrick Garland’s inaction on Trump's circle

Norm Eisen, former ethics czar and lawyer who helped Democrats during the first impeachment of Donald Trump, reassured those demanding accountability for corruption under former President Donald Trump in a new interview with Business Insider.

Some legal experts have spoken out on cable news saying that the cases against Donald Trump would be a sure win, leading many to ask, where Attorney General Merrick Garland is.

Trump is facing tax charges from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office as well as possible voter fraud charges by Fulton County DA Fani Willis. After a 8 months in office, Garland hasn't made any public moves on anything involving the former president, his staff or corrupt cabinet officials who were never charged after investigations by the Office of Special Counsel.

"Atlanta is moving faster than DC. Where oh where is Merrick Garland? The DOJ seems strangely AWOL," Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe asked in a tweet.

President Joe Biden has maintained that he would like to move forward and bring people together. He's actively worked to negotiate with Republicans but has been rejected by "no" at every turn. The thought is that if Garland moves to prosecute anyone involving Trump and his administration, it would be painted as politically motivated.

"There will be no doubt political blowback," said former federal prosecutor Barb McQuade, who now serves as a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. "But I think there's also political blowback if you don't."

Republicans are already at work in their attacks against Biden, with the NRCC releasing its first 2022 campaign ad less than a year after Biden took office. Not holding corrupt actors accountable will likely depress Democratic enthusiasm and 2020 votes along with it, which could mean Democrats lose the House and the Senate.

Insider spoke with former Justice Department officials who confessed they were struck by Garland's inaction over Trump and his White House.

While the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 has publicized some of its moves, the Justice Department typically stays quiet. It's entirely possible that they've been investigating Trump or those in his circle but stayed mum.

Last Friday, the DOJ pick to lead the investigation, Matt Graves, was officially sworn in. The week before, Matt Olsen, the new chief of the Justice Department's national security division was also sworn in. He'll be another aiding in the probe of Jan. 6. The theory is that they will move it forward and present legal arguments to the attorney general.

"What I can't tell is whether the Department of Justice is doing anything to try to figure out what Trump and his senior advisors were doing in the lead-up to January 6," a well-connected Democratic lawyer said when speaking to Insider. "If I wanted to charge this, I'd be looking at texts. I'd be looking at emails. I'd be looking at all of that stuff and trying to get cooperators initially to get a sense of what was the plan, what was the coordination between the insurrectionists and the Trump campaign and all that kind of stuff."

The lawyer noted that the committee clearly is doing that but it's unclear if the DOJ is. They seem more focused on the nearly 700 people who have been arrested for the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

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